It’s amazing what (sun)light can do for you. We’re talking the magical Vitamin D, said to boost happiness levels, build stronger bones and lower blood pressure. Sunlight can also heal the skin… and generously leave it with little brown gifts called pigmentation. Then there’s the other kind of light called IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), which can also generously lighten the damage dealt. That’s our ZapZapTM for you.

ZapZapTM — An IPL Fairy Tale for the Skin?

The latest introduction to the family of existing treatments, the ZapZapTM series is a suite of IPL treatments targeted at pigmentations, wrinkled/lined skin, acne and acne marks.

IPL isn’t really new to us, but we’d recently given our equipment an overhaul and exchanged our existing Korean technology for the latest, most premium of non-medical grade Spanish Variable Pulse IPL machines that aestheticians are legally licensed to operate. Also, while most other IPL treatments only use blue or green light, our ZapZapTM equipment pairs blue with red light for accelerated recovery.

In other words:

– Better, faster results with even less to no downtime
– It’s good for more than just pigmentations — it’s also great for softening fine lines, heal acne and its marks, balancing excess sebum and brightening the skin
– Suitable for all skin types
– Doesn’t cause dryness to the skin — we promise

We don’t believe in shortcuts, but this is as close as it gets.

Good Things Come in Threes: ZitZapTM, ZapBrightTM and ZapGlowTM

Meet ZitZap™ — the new best friend that makes our signature QuintessentialTM extraction facial so much better. Designed to — well — zap zits, marks and bacteria away, remarkably enhancing skin’s healing after it’s been uncongested (did I just make that up?) to death.

Imagine this: Results so stark yet subtle, a phone camera can’t capture it… but your friends will definitely notice the lines that did a mysterious disappearing act! Designed to reduce fine lines, firm and brighten the skin, ZapGlow™ is an IPL treatment that’s perfect for anti-ageing concerns.

With Good Things Come Bad Things Like Nagging

We love the fast results ZapZapTM brings us and our clients, but as with all things, prevention is better than cure. While some skin problems are truly hereditary (and there’s nothing we can do about genes), we can mitigate/prevent them with these quick skincare tips:

When asked what attributes to ageing skin, most would easily throw out answers like a “lack of collagen”. But there’s so much more to that than just collagen and elastin. Bone loss occurs, changing your basic bone structure; constant facial movements and expressions result in wrinkles not just in the skin, but in the muscles themselves! Facial ageing and muscles? They’re definitely a very real thing.

Anyone beyond 40 is no stranger to seeing a different face in the mirror over time. First, there was a slight loss of firmness in the skin… then some fine lines around the eyes and mouth… deeper lines … wrinkles… holy cow, is my jaw sagging now?

Credit: http://freestocks.org

Atrophy, not a trophy

Atrophy is a far cry from its similar-sounding brother… what’s atrophy, really? Simply put, it’s the decrease in muscle mass (wasting away of the muscles, if you will), and this happens in the face as well — resulting in (possibly early) facial ageing.

When we were young…

We had strong bones, toned muscles, and beautiful cheeks. These were thanks to the connective tissues under the skin—tissues that contain tons of collagen fibres (for support) and elastic fibres (for strength and facial flexibility).

As we age, these fibres shrink and deteriorate, along with our muscles, bones, and nerves. They lose mass (or volume), strength and elasticity. This is atrophy, and while the biggest changes appear in our 40s or 50s, they usually begin in the mid-thirties and carry on till we’re older.

And as this happens, our skin starts losing its legendary collagen and firmness. Together with the changes that our bones along our jaws, cheeks and brows go through, we begin noticing sags in our facial features (and self-confidence).

Lifestyle behaviours like smoking, alcohol can also influence muscle atrophy. Even excess sun exposure can result in fibres that can no longer ‘recover’ or ‘bounce back into place with resiliency’, and thus sag.

But guess what? Exercise helps!

Muscles & facial ageing? Kill it with exercise

Credit: Matheus Ferrero

As we said, most focus on “the loss of collagen” and search for treatments that help stimulate collagen growth to help firm skin. Which is great! Why not boost it for longer-lasting, more effective results with some targeted treatments for the facial muscles as well?

Porcelain’s Cryotherapy Intensive (or more recently renamed Arctic ToneTM) is an award-winning treatment that helps people with anti-ageing concerns.

And here, let’s go technical.

Arctic ToneTM: Features for reversing time

Low-Frequency Current

This super-lifting treatment stimulates facial muscles with a patented 4Hz low-frequency current. It sounds terribly painful, but it is not! What the current does is to tone and stimulate the skin’s muscle fibres comfortably — energizing and elevating the facial muscles. The result is a smoother, firmer and more youthful-looking complexion. What you just did there? A good, intensive workout for your facial muscles.

Deeper Stamp Depths

Your skin absorbs products even more intensively now not just with Iontophoresis… Arctic Tone also features deeper Cryostamp depths (from 0.25mm to 0.5mm) for more even more targeted results like pore/scars reduction and skin brightening. Deeper stamp depths* simply mean ingredients penetrate the skin more intensively, plus they address deeper scars as they can stimulate tissue repair further down.

It’s pretty simple and no rocket science:

Low Frequency + Lower Temperatures = Firmer, Toned Skin

Iontophoresis + Deeper Stamp Depths = Brighter, More Nourished Skin

*Note: A higher stamp depth may require longer downtime and may not be suitable for sensitive skin.

Arctic ToneTM: Benefits

Credit: Taylor Boggs

Had enough of science lessons? Us, too.

To cut the long story short, the treatment does do what you know will help with facial ageing:

Arctic ToneTMwill stimulate collagen and elastin production. But it does more than just that. It also stimulates facial muscles, thus toning them. We like to call it exercise for the face.

A favourite among celebrity A-listers Victoria Beckham and Miranda Kerr, rosehip seed oil has become a popular home treatment miracle oil of sorts. Rosehip seed oil is derived from the fruit left behind by a rose after its petals have all fallen. Boasting benefits to the skin, hair and nails, it’s no wonder that this oil has even gotten the royal seal of approval from none other than Duchess Kate Middleton. Not convinced yet? Here are 5 benefits of rosehip seed oil that will make you head out the door for one. View Post

As much as we hate it, pimples are part of our lives. Although we see more of it during our teenage years, keep in mind that they continue to pay a visit at any age, anytime and without any notice. It’s all good, okay, at least tolerable, if they come and go quickly. The problem occurs when they leave a mark on our face after they’re gone. And of course with time, as more acne appears, the chances of more scarring increases. What’s worse? If you don’t treat acne scars swiftly, they’re likely to stay with you forever. For those of you are thinking time will do the trick, you may be right, only if you are in your younger years when the body is quick to recover. As an adult, it’s best to procrastinate no more, and get a scarring treatment system right away, before chaos ensues.

When Do Pimples Leave Scars Behind?

There are multiple grades of pimples. The mildest and common ones are small and tiny bumps of comedones such as blackheads and whiteheads. Another form of mild acne are small papules or red, inflamed, tender bumps with no head. More severe ones are pimples or cyst, which are pus-filled. While a mild pimple or clusters of pimples may just be temporary guests, cystic acne can be far more severe and highly prone to permanent scarring unless you take care, and avoid scratching or squeezing. Finally the severe type of acne that is almost definitely going to leave a scar is the big boils you get on your face.

What Are The Causes Of Acne?

Cystic acne strikes males more than females, but it can occur in either gender. If there is a family tendency to have the condition, parents of those entering their teens should be on the lookout for symptoms such a reddening of the skin or visible skin lesions.

Other factors causing severe acne are the same as those for other forms of acne. All types of acne often occur due to overactive oil glands, which means your sebaceous or fat glands are very active in producing oil on the skin. This excess oil can clog the pores, blocking bacteria inside. Hormonal imbalance and stress often stimulate the sebaceous gland activity. Acne also comes from excess dead skin cells within the hair follicle or pores. Externally acne can be caused by clogging pores with too much cream or cosmetics.

How Can You Treat Acne Scars?

First, you’ll have to know that whichever treatment you go for, skincare is a long-term commitment. Having good complexion is like hitting the gym and getting that six-pack abs. It requires effort and maintenance. And because skincare is long term, at Porcelain, we work hard to educate our clients and develop a trusted relationship to better cater to your needs.

If you want real improvement for severe scars, then you have the choice of skin resurfacing treatments. This is primarily used to get rid of nasty wrinkles and scars that appear on the surface of the skin. The laser emits a power beam of light that burns affected skin away. An even more efficient technology would be Sublative Rejuvenation which uses can go deeper than traditional laser heat your subcutaneous dermal tissue, breaking the sebum cycle that causes active acne to form. It also works to contracts and restructures collagen, resulting in skin tightening and improved skin quality. It’s also great for the reason that it doesn’t really have downtime, pigmentation or scarring and very little side effects.

How Effective Is Treating Scarring With Dermabrasion?

Dermabrasion was more common in the past, but not so much anymore. The procedure needs to be performed by a highly skilled doctor and hygiene vice, there’s lots of blood splattering. With laser you know exactly how deep you want to go and can adjust the energy to be as deep as you want to fix, as for dermabrasion although you can do this, it’s not as precise. I’d would just say, for red scars it’s good to get a laser done, for severe scars usually fractional radio frequency works best, for indented scars, fillers do the magic and for ice pick scars nothing really helps. But this is just a general statement. Depending on each individual case, it may differ and sometimes you’ll need a combination of treatments.

How Can I Avoid The Recurrence Of Acne?

If all of these techniques and treatment options have your head spinning, do your best to prevent adult acne, before it gets to an uncontrollable point. If the cause is hyperactive of sebaceous gland then you may have to may have to consider medication that reduces its activity. If your lifestyle induces acne, such as too much sun exposure, cream or make up, then try and go low on it.

Porcelain, The Face Spa

We at Porcelain, The Face Spa provides premium skin care solutions to make porcelain complexion a reality for our customers.

Our Quintessential Facial is fully customized to cater to all skin problems starting from dull/uneven skin tone, severe acne/pimple problems, acne scars, age spots all the way to pigmentation and even sensitive skin! There is no ‘one size fits all’ in skincare, that’s why all our treatments are customized.

The Porcelain Team is equipped to educate our clients on what is best for them. We live and breathe skincare; you can treat your skin is in good hands at Porcelain.

No two skins are the same. Are you Asian? Are you in Asia? It all matters and will affect how you care for it. Here are 6 differences that Asian skin has compared to other skins.

1. Prone To Sensitivity

Our skin is said to be prone to irritation as we have a thinner stratum corneum or the outermost layer of skin, compared to other ethnic groups. As a result, Asian skin becomes extremely sensitive to environmental factors and chemicals, which can disrupt the skin’s pH level.

We need to be more careful with what products and treatments we use on our skin as most of us may not react well to harsh treatments such as peeling or acidic chemical solutions.

Credit: Aiony Haust

2. Scars More Easily

Because of our thinner stratum corneum, it is also said that Asian skin is genetically predisposed to scar more easily than others. Hence, greater care must be given when one has acne breakout and when one is trying to heal from some skin scarring.

Do not go squeezing that pimple and poking at that acne. Use gentle products like emu oil or Vitamin E to heal the scars.

3. More Issues With Hyper-Pigmentation

All skin contains about the same number of melanocytes but the amount of melanin they produce varies. Melanin is a natural skin pigment that protects the skin from UV damage. Obviously, dark-skinned people produce more melanin and light skin people produce less. While research has indicated that Asians have more photo-protective pigment melanin.

Use sunscreen religiously and use a product containing gentle skin brightening properties from your early twenties. Avoid hydroquinone!

Credit: Brock Elbank

4. Loses Moisture Easily

Asian skin showed the highest levels of Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL), as well as increased levels of permeability. TEWL is the amount of water vapour lost through the skin under non-sweating conditions.

5. Gets Oily More Easily

It is often said that Asian skin has more sebaceous glands and is oilier than Caucasian skin type. This might have to do with the weather as well but it is generally true that most of us are constantly fighting to keep shine away from our skin.

Our skin may get clogged easily and it’ll be good to exfoliate once or twice a week. In addition, do not use harsh products that will strip away our natural skin lipids and make the skin oilier.

6. More Resistant To Aging

While we have a thinner stratum corneum, we also have a thicker dermis that contains greater collagen. This means that our skin shows fewer signs of premature ageing.